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->''"Water, fire, earth and air -- Guardians, unite!"''

[[ComicBook/{{WITCH}} Based on an Italian comic book]]. This show aired on Creator/ABCFamily and ToonDisney's Jetix block and decided to try something else from the typical comic book adaptations at the time. It [[AdaptationDistillation re-imagines the first two story arcs of the comic, tying them together and making them one central, stand-alone, connected plot-line told in the show's serial narrative]]. To some fans' regret, however, this results in them changing a few things around. GregWeisman, creator of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', was a showrunner during the second season.

On the distant planet of Meridian, a tyrannical young man named Phobos has acquired the royal throne and begun his crusade to spread his reign over all other planets in the universe. In order to counter his ambitions, a magical wall, known as the Veil, was created in order to seal Meridian away from the rest of the universe. However, over time, the Veil has begun to deteriorate, creating tears in the fabric of space which turn into portals, allowing free passage between Meridian and Earth. On Earth, five young girls are recruited to become the Guardians of the Veil, a group of super-powered defenders who are tasked with keeping order in the universe and acting as the protectors for all planets in the various galaxies of space. To do this, they must maintain the Veil by closing the portals.

Soon into their Guardianship, they encounter Caleb, the young leader of a rebel army on Meridian. The rebel army opposes Phobos' rule, as Meridian is a matriarchal planet, and he tells the Guardians that the rightful heir to the throne, Phobos' sister, is hidden away somewhere on Earth, and now that the Veil is weak enough to pass through it, both the rebels and Phobos are racing to find the heir located somewhere on Earth. As they work together to search for the rightful heir to the throne, the Guardians slowly begin to learn that other forces are at work behind the scenes, manipulating and coercing various events involving the war on Meridian, and that everything and everyone they encounter is not what they appear to be.

The five girls ([[FunWithAcronyms whose initials spell "Witch"]]) form a classic FiveManBand, plus a sort-of SixthRanger (one of the Meridian rebels, who's pretty much there from the beginning), a {{Mentor|s}} (grandmother of one of the girls from a previous team, CHYKN), and a NonHumanSidekick (a goblin-like smuggler from Meridian who is both cute and utterly gross) which sounds fairly standard, but the show distinguishes itself by clever plotting, writing, and bold attempt at creating a series with a centralized plotline that develops each episode with little-to-no filler episodes. Most of the episodes revolve around chess-like maneuvers between the villains and the girls, and the girls start out on the losing side of the war, and must slowly build up their victories. However, they tend to lose more often than they win due to the villain's cunning intelligence, but the plot still moves one step closer to its conclusion.

This show is also notable for totally avoiding many tropes found in the action genre. One example is the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil; neither Phobos' minions or the girls get any more powerful, or visibly better at using their powers. Instead, the CharacterDevelopment comes from how both sides treat their war. The girls initially treat their missions like a game or a nuisance, and get much more serious with time. Both the girls and Phobos get much smarter, too. Early episodes have the girls making Keystone Kops blunders in trying to hide their secret, while the bad guys make ham-fisted attacks. By the end, both the girls and Phobos are incredibly sneaky. The second-season avoids it as well, even though the girls get some upgrades and neat new powers, they still have trouble beating the season's BigBad Nerissa, even though she's arguably weaker than Phobos. The trouble the girls have stems from Nerissa's [[TheChessmaster uncanny scheming ability]]. The girls never match Nerissa in terms of strength, so they must rely on their wits to outsmart her. Unfortunately, Nerissa tends to be the one outsmarting them and [[UnwittingPawn leading them right where she wants them]].

See also, the comic: ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}''

Due to ratings, the show was cancelled after its second season.----!!This show provides examples of:

* TheAce: Caleb, though only when it comes to non-powered opponents.* ActionGirl: Well, it's a show with heroines and an acronym for a title. To make this scream action girl any louder, [[AmazonBrigade you'd have to add the word "squad!"]]* ACupAngst: Will is less than well-endowed and, in the comics, rather sore about it, too.* AdaptationDyeJob: Matt and Hay Lin's grandmother both got black hair in the cartoon adaption of the comics (whereas they usually have brown and grey hair respectively).** Irma's hair is in a lighter shade of brown.* AdultsAreUseless: {{Averted|Trope}}, the only times the kids beat the adults are when there's a large power gap, such as the Guardians fighting the non-magical {{Mooks}}. When they fight other magical-endowed adults, however, they tend to lose the battle due to their lack of experience and power.* AesopAmnesia: In the season one episode 'The Stone of Threbe', the girls learn a lesson about taking their powers for granted. Come the season 1 episode, 'Caleb's Challenge', and they're all too happy to use their powers to bake cookies.* AgeInappropriateDress: The guardian costumes are rather...provocative for 13-14 year-old girls. Lampshaded by Cornelia's mother in season two when she thinks Hay Lin is wearing a costume.* TheAlcatraz: Cavigor prison, which is basically an island surrounded by a BottomlessPit instead of water.* AllYourPowersCombined: This was a major theme for the villains in the second season, with each villain becoming more powerful than the last because they kept capturing each other.** Happened to Cornelia in "N is for Narcissist" when she's inadvertently infused with all the other Guardians' powers and becoming Uber-Cornelia, causing the others to go powerless. She proceeded to [[CurbStompBattle curb stomp]] Nerissa's minions. In the end, she makes the decision to give up the newly gained power and distribute them back to the others.* AlphaBitch: Cornelia sometimes, mainly in the first season, the Grumper Twins ''definitely''.** Nerissa was very likely one when she was a teenager, going by how she acts with restored youth to her teen years.* {{Animesque}}: The ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' inspirations are pretty obvious with the MagicalGirl motifs.* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Irma's brother Chris, and Cornelia's sister Lillian.* ArtEvolution: Season 2 was animated at Creator/DongWooAnimation in Korea; replacing the Creator/WangFilmProductions[=/=]Creator/HongYing duo of the first.* AscendedExtra: Caleb had a much smaller role in the comics.* ASimplePlan: If only.* TheAtoner: Tynar, as seen in "B is for Betrayal".* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever- Cedric in the finale.* Babyname: 'Pink Perky Poopie Pumpkin' for Will, 'Snoopy Pants' for Irma and 'Corny' for Cornelia.* BackFromTheDead: Caleb's [[spoiler:father]], who was thought long gone turns out to be alive and a prisoner.** [[spoiler: Nerissa brings Cassidy back to life in the second season to serve in the revitalized CHYKN. This actually sticks by the end of the season and Cassidy returns home to her elderly mother]].* TheBadGuyWins: In both seasons, the Guardians are completely helpless to stop the villains from carrying out their scheme, until they finally get to win in the season finale.* BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad: Prince Phobos.* BadassNormal: Caleb - by the end of the second season, he's pretty much the only character who ''can't'' shoot some form of laser beams. Caleb eventually molds Matt into this with warrior combat training, to the point that our musician can match Caleb in a spar, but then Matt gets powers of his own, leaving Caleb alone once more.* BareYourMidriff: Pretty much every one of the main protagonists does this in their Guardian forms. They show less midriff in their civilian forms when they show it at all.** Nerissa does this too, but it's really just her stomach & navel. Not much else.* BarrierMaiden: Practically the entire point of the first season.* BastardUnderstudy: Cedric, Miranda.* BatmanGambit: Plenty of characters pull these, including the good guys.* BeachEpisode: ''I is for Illusion''.* TheBGrade: Taranee fears this, as shown in "The Labyrinth" when an AbsentMindedProfessor loses an essay of hers.-->'''Cornelia:''' Taranee, [[SarcasmMode we all grieve for your loss]], but the world's been invaded for monsters! Focus!* BigBad: Phobos in Season 1, Nerissa in Season 2.* TheBigDamnKiss: Caleb and Cornelia in "Z is for Zenith" as it was right in the middle of a battle.* BlondeBrunetteRedhead* BookDumb: A rare female example: Will. A gifted leader and strategist she may be, but academically she flounders hard. Its a frequent source of drama between her and her mother.** Irma has similar grades, but flat-out says she just doesn't try and "lives in the now."* BookEnds: Z Is For Zenith consists largely of the girls remembering the final battle with Cedric after they went OneWingedAngel.* BracesOfOrthodonticOverkill: Averted with Hay Lin, her braces are normal and she's proud of them.* {{Brainwashed}} / BrainwashedAndCrazy: Virtually every major character as fallen victim to one of these at some point. Even many of the supporting characters do (in particular the Witch's boyfriends).* BreakingTheFourthWall: Hay Lin actually SLAMMED her face into the screen after she first transformed.* BreastExpansion: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]. Transforming into a Guardian give a temporary instant puberty growth. Do the math.* BrickJoke: In "I is for Illusion" the Guardians go to Kandrakar for information on Nerissa, not knowing her name they refer to her as "Ugly old hag" with a "No offense!" thrown in from Irma to The Mage, in a OOC moment The Mage (normally TheStoic) puts her hands on her hips and glares out a "None taken" back [[spoiler:This becomes a billion times funnier when it's revealed that The Mage is Nerissa in disguise and has been all along]]. Really there’s a lot of them in regards to [[spoiler:Nerissa's identity as both The Mage and Trill.]]* ButtMonkey: Cornelia. If one of the guardians screws up, chances are Cornelia's the one hit in the face, or drenched in water, or otherwise screwed.* BuxomIsBetter: It's an official plot point, in the comics, novelizations and TV series... subverted by Irma, however, whose oversized bust is the butt of jokes.* CameraAbuse: In the first episode, after the girls first transform, Hay Lin starts flying circles around the other girls (especially Will), presumably due to her being the air element. She ends up flying straight into the camera. Also possibly a case of BreakingTheFourthWall.* CanonForeigner: Blunk is original to the cartoon.* CastFromHP: Old Guardians must do this without access to Aurameres or a Heart.* ChangelingFantasy: Elyon.* TheChessmaster: Nerissa - this is unsurprising given that the second season had as a showrunner Greg Weisman, creator of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' and thus of David Xanatos.** The second season also featured ''Will'' giving it a try. The WhamEpisode ''Y Is for Yield'' shows that, with the help of the other Guardians, she successfully outplayed ''the entire cast, Nerissa included''. [[spoiler: Except for Cedric, who realized what she was doing and derailed her scheme at the last moment]]* ClonesArePeopleToo: Altermeres, as opposed to astral drops, are people with free will. [[spoiler:Of the two we meet, Will acknowledges her altermere's free will before she [[WeHardlyKnewYe dies]], and Yan Lin introduces her altermere to her family as her LongLostSibling [[PunnyName Mera]].]]* ColdBloodedTorture: Phobos does this to Will in episode 2; we don't see all of it (just the part where she's trapped in plant vines) but when Will encounters Phobos face to face several episodes she's visibly terrified of him.* CompositeCharacter: In the original comics, Shagon and Khor are simply a random man and his dog, transformed by Nerissa. In the cartoon, [[spoiler:they are the transformed forms of Will's boyfriend Matt and pet Mr. Huggles.]]* ConsummateLiar: Miranda.** Arguably, the main characters and our heroes as they keep up TheMasquerade. Strangely, they're actually pretty ''bad'' liars and this leads to [[spoiler:Elyon believing Cedric over them]] as he's a ''much'' better one.* ContinuityNod: Every episode, more or less.* ConvenientlyUnverifiableCoverStory: Miranda, pardon, "Melinda".* CreepyChild: Miranda again.* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Nerissa knows the ins and outs of the Guardian business and uses this to her advantage.* DeadlyUpgrade * DeadpanSnarker: Irma leads the pack.* DealWithTheDevil: The Guardians were forced to cooperate with [[spoiler:Phobos]] in order to defeat Nerissa. [[spoiler:Subverted in that they never planned on him holding to his word and were in fact relying on him betraying them for their plan to work.]]* DefrostingIceQueen: Cornelia.* DeusExitMachina: Elyon is imprisoned for much of Season 2, keeping her out of fights she should've been easily able to win for the Guardians otherwise. Justified since it was all part of ThePlan.* DirtyCoward: Nerissa in "T is for Trauma". Realizing she couldn't win, she runs despite their fight won't have any runners, which Will calls her out on, but of course, the evil hag pulls LoopholeAbuse, saying that Will agreed to not run but she herself didn't.* DisappearedDad: Both Caleb and Will start the show with these, for different reasons. Caleb's turns up mid-season 1 and Will's in season 2. * DoggedNiceGuy: Martin.* DownerEnding: Just about every episode in the second season until the ending.* TheDragon: Cedric.** In the second season it gets a bit more complicated, with Raythor first being TheDragon to Nerissa, then Shagon. When [[spoiler:Phobos regains power, Cedric becomes TheDragon again- and when ''he'' takes over, Miranda becomes his Dragon for all of one episode.]]* DyeHard: In season 2's "W is for Witch". Accidentally {{Invoked}} for Cornelia when Napoleon knocks her pink nail polish onto a strand of hair. Leaving that strand dyed pink for the remainder of the episode.* Earplug: In episode 'G is for Garbage', Irma and Blunk use a pair of earplugs to prevent them from listening to the horn.** Blunk use Bee's wax instead of earplugs.* EatTheEvidence: Will mentions this as a possible way she could hide a bad grade from her mother.* ElaborateUndergroundBase: The Infinite City.* ElementalBaggage: Averted.** Played with when the Guardians fight inside at a swimming pool and Cornelia has no earth or plants to use. [[spoiler:She makes do with algae from the pool.]]* ElementalPowers:** ShockAndAwe / PureEnergy- Will/Nerissa are the Guardians of Quintessence** MakingASplash - Irma/Cassidy are the Guardians of Water** PlayingWithFire - Taranee/Halinor are the Guardians of Fire** DishingOutDirt / GreenThumb - Cornelia/Kadma are the Guardians of Earth** BlowYouAway - Hay Lin/Yan Lin are the Guardians of Air* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Really. Even if Phobos weren't evil, he's disqualified from taking the throne of Meridian by being male.* EvilMinions: Most who serve out of fear. Once Elyon takes the thrown they switch over pretty fast.* TheEvilPrince: Phobos.* EvilSorcerer: Phobos, Nerissa.* EvilTwin: (Jeek is technically an EvilCounterpart, but he can impersonate Blunk easily)* ExactWords: Cedric asks for, and is granted, "a fraction" of Phobos's power. [[spoiler:Turns out that four fourths is a fraction...]]* FallenHero: Nerissa.* FatalFlaw: How Nerissa [[spoiler:gains control of the former guardians]] "It is the chink in the armour of your soul... [[MoreThanMindControl And all I need to make you mine!]]"* FightingYourFriend: Caleb and Aldarn in one episode, due to Elyon's inadvertent mind control.* FirstKiss: All the W.I.T.C.H. girls and their respective crushes.* FisherKing: Meridian is [[{{Mordor}} a dreary wasteland]] under Phobos and a fairytale-style kingdom under Elyon. Justified because of the magical powers of both rulers, as well as Phobos damaging Meridian during his rule by leaching life-energy out of it, which Elyon didn't do.* FiveBadBand: The second season gives us one.** BigBad-Nerissa, doubles as TheEvilGenius due to her [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitchy]] ways.** TheDragon-Shagon** TheBrute(s) Khor and Tridart share this role.** TheDarkChick-Ember* [[FiveManBand Five-Girl Band]]:** TheLeader / TheHeart- Will, since she holds the Heart of Krandrakar.** TheLancer / TheChick- Cornelia** [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Girl]] - Taranee** [[TheBigGuy The Big Girl]] - Irma** KidAppealCharacter - Hay Lin** SixthRanger - Caleb, TheOneGuy; later, Matt as well* FiveTokenBand: Irma is Hispanic, Hay Lin is Chinese, and Taranee is of mixed black and Asian race. Will and Cornelia are the only two white members of the main team.** Will and her mother could count as AmbiguouslyBrown.* FluffyCloudHeaven: Kandrakar gives off this vibe in both the comic and show.* {{Foreshadowing}}: Numerous aspects; most of the major plot points and plot twists are foreshadowed and can be picked up by attentive viewers.* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself: Practically everybody that can transform in "W is Witch".** In comic issue #100, the girls go to a party and find out it's a costume party. Guess what happens next.* FunWithAcronyms: W.I.T.C.H. in first season, then C.H.Y.K.N. in the second. Hay Lin, author of both, had only one thing to say: "They were C.H.Y.K.N.? Wow, I'm so glad we're W.I.T.C.H."* GambitPileup: Most of the second season.* GardenOfEvil: Phobos is rather proud of it.* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: On-screen death, many suggestive dialog exchanges, explicitly-explained rape.** Even the soundtrack gets in on this. Specifically, ''Bloom'', Cornelia's character song, which involves her asking someone to 'plant a little seed and watch me bloom'. Subtle.* {{Glamour}}: In one episode Nerissa used her new young form to enthrall the mortal men of Earth and turn the girls' crushes against them.** A Glamour Zone is a massive illusion field that can alter the perception of anyone who walks into it.* GrandFinale: With a [[TheStinger stinger of sorts]] that was [[ScrewedByTheNetwork never followed up on]].* HappilyMarried: All of the parent of W.I.T.C.H. have a healthy and loving relationship.** Possibly averted with Will's parents, who are divorced. Then, played straight with Will's dad, Tony and Serena (Will's new stepmom), who will be this.* TheHeartless. The Knights of Destruction.* HeroicBastard Implied for [[spoiler:Caleb]]* HeroicBSOD: Hay Lin, "T is for Trauma", [[spoiler:where Nerissa controlled Yan Lin's clone and Eric]].* HeroicResolve. How Hay Lin breaks out of the aforementioned HeroicBSOD.* HighSchoolRejects: Uriah and his gang.* Hyperactive: Hay Lin and possibly Chris.* Hypnotise: The Horn of Hypnos appeared once in both of the season. 'Walk This Way' in season 1 and 'G Is For Garbage' in season 2.* HowDoIShotWeb: All the girls in the first episodes. [[spoiler:Cedric]] in the season finale.* HulkSpeak: Blunk. In fact, all Passlings speak that way.* {{Hypocrite}}: Will calls her mother out on [[spoiler:lying about having a boyfriend]] when she earlier lectured her daughter about doing the same. Taranee also bawls her mother out for jumping to conclusions about her and Nigel being involved in a serious crime just because Nigel is a bit of a prankster.* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Will tells her mom that she really does want her mom to be happy, even if it's with her History teacher.* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The titles of the second season episodes are in the form of an alphabet primer.* InTheBlood: [[spoiler:Nerissa]] tries to use this on Caleb, but he refutes it.* [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide In Touch With Their Feminine Sides]]: Matt, Eric, Nigel, Caleb and Andrew Hornby. Stephen is only available in the comic.* InitialismTitle* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Cornelia and Irma.* Jokester: Irma, obviously, even on bad timing, she still jokes around. Almost all of the episodes she jokes. This can annoy the other girls a lot, especially Cornelia.* JustDesserts: When [[spoiler:Cedric eats Phobos.]]* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Nerissa ends up much happier than she deserves.]]* KickTheDog: Phobos does this VERY frequently. He tortures Will in the second episode among other things.* KickTheSonOfABitch: Phobos does this to Nerissa and Miranda; Nerissa by trapping her in a jewel and Miranda by turning her into a really small spider and locking her in a cell for almost half a season. It is hinted that Nerissa was kicked around by Elyon and the previous Guardians after she was absorbed into the jewel by Phobos, as they were NOT happy to see her.* KilledOffForReal: Quite a few characters.* LimitedWardrobe: The girls in the first season. And most secondary characters throughout the entire series.* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler: Nerissa is Caleb's mother. She knows it. He does not.]] * LoopholeAbuse: [[spoiler: In season 2 it's shown that swearing on a magical talisman like the Heart of Candracar can bind a person to that promise with bad results if they actually enter the realm of Candracar. Will uses this to entrap Phobos to try and invade Candracar after he swore on the Heart to return his sister's power-it's implied it would have worked had Cedric not intervened by pulling his own LoopholeAbuse and taking a "fraction" of Phobos' new power. Ironically, Will seemed to have gotten the idea from Nerissa's actions under DirtyCoward above]].* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:The girls go through one at the end of the series.]]* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Nerissa is Caleb's mother.]]* MagicalGirlWarrior: WITCH is here to kick ass and take names!* MaleGaze: The transformed girls get on occasion, sometimes form the perspective of their love interests.* ManipulativeBastard: Nerissa, to a lesser extent Phobos.* Matured: Obviously, Irma said that she was too matured for threat-a-trick with her brother, Cornelia's sister and Blunk. But she ends up threat-a-tricking with them in the end.* {{Meganekko}}: Taranee.* MesACrowd: Astral Drops.* MeetCute: Will and Caleb [[BoyMeetsGirl meet]] when she [[FallingIntoHisArms literally falls into his arms]], and immediately [[BelligerentSexualTension start bickering]]. This misled a lot of viewers who weren't familiar with the comics, thinking THEY would be the OfficialCouple.** In an aversion to what happened in the comics, Will didn't have an (onscreen) MeetCute with Matt, he just sort of showed up for her birthday party. Ditto for Caleb and Cornelia. Hay Lin seeing Eric for the first time would have counted if she hadn't turned invisible out of embarrassment.* MindControl: Happens a few times but most noticeably in "G is for Garbage" in which all the heroines (except for Irma and Blunk), Jeek and Matt fall victim to this.* MissingMom: For Caleb. Becomes a plot point in season 2. * {{Mooks}}: The rebels, Phobos' Guards, later Elyon's guards.* MoreThanMindControl: Elyon in the first season and the members of CHYKN in the second season.* MostCommonSuperpower: Apparently magic powers=breast implants... and none of the girls complain, for [[BiggerIsBetter obvious reasons]].* MundaneUtility: The girls once guardian-up in order to bake a few pastries for a school function.* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In "U is for Undivided", Cornelia when [[spoiler:she realized the bedtime story she was telling Lillian was ACTUALLY HAPPENING outside, Where the other Guardians were fighting Nerissa and her group according to how the story was told.]]* [[NewSuperPower New Powers]]: Beginning in season 2 the girls all get an expansion in powers. Along with several PsychicPowers (see below) Hay Lin can turn [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]], Cornelia gained the ability to grow taller and Irma could change the colors of clothes, possibly other things, too. The biggest upgrade has to be Will finally having a few defensive powers of her own as she accepted her control over Quintessence. * NiceJobBreakingItHero: Will's decision not to tell Elyon ultimately results in Phobos successfully manipulating her for half the season.* NoBisexuals: Averted, sort of. A questionable relationship between Nerissa and Cassidy's relationship is alluded to, though later on [[spoiler:we found out she seduced a man to impregnate her to have a child. While one could argue she only used him to get pregnant, she has shown loving feelings for him, such as when she spared him his life during a deadly confrontation.]]* NoClue: In 'W is for WITCH', Irma spoke a few ways that she was too matured for taking out the kids to threat-a-tricking. After they asked her about it, all she said was she had no idea what they were talking about.-->'''Cornelia:''' Andrew Hornby.\\'''Irma:''' I have no idea what you're talking about.* NoLovesIntersect: Rather than crush on a character for the entire series, the characters actually have the nerve to break trope tradition and ask the character out with little hesitance, which causes them to hook up fairly early on in the series.* NoSocialSkills: Caleb is clueless about Earth.* OddFriendship: Caleb and Blunk.* OlderAlterEgo: The girls age up noticeably when they transform into their guardian form. At one point a transformed Cornelia is thought to be her own (non-existent) older sister. When Cornelia's mother sees Hay Lin in her transformed state (using it as her "Halloween costume"), she comments how she didn't know Halloween costumes nowadays came with that kind of padding.** Exaggerated in 'N is for Narcissist' when Cornelia is accidentally imbued with all of the guardian's powers, she transforms into a fully adult version of herself. Caleb even calls her "hot."* TheOneGuy: Caleb and Blunk, later Matt.* OpenAndShut: This appears to be Will's power (in season 1 at least). She can transform the other four together, and connect places with portals.* OrcusOnHisThrone: Phobos is this during Season 1; up until the season finale Will's the only gaurdian who's actually met him.* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Passlings.* OurOrcsAreDifferent: Many of Meridian's natives are orc-like to a greater or lesser extent, but the lurdens fit best both in terms of appearance and [[{{Mooks}} role in the story]].* OutOfCharacterMoment: Hay Lin is usually the cheerful one, but in "T is for Trauma", she goes catatonic after seeing [[spoiler:clone Yan Lin and Eric being controlled by Nerissa]]. Even when transforming, she silently had her back turned, not even bothering to do her usual pose.* OutOfOrder: Season 2 Halloween episode, 'W is for Witch', which in order to air in time for the holiday, had to be shown before 'T is for Trauma'.* ParentalAbandonment: Mostly averted, though we are never given a clear picture of what ''actually'' happened to Phobos and Elyon's birth parents. Given the nature of the eldest child, however, [[SelfMadeOrphan we can make an educated guess]].** Played straight with Caleb, whose one parent is believed to be dead when the series starts and the other is not around.* ThePlan: Phobos pulls off a good one in Season 1, and ''everyone'' gets in on the act in Season 2. [[spoiler:Then there's the fact that Phobos' initial plan was in fact part of an even bigger one pulled by Nerissa]]. Which is the only way that Phobos' take-over makes much sense in the first place. Think about it. [[spoiler:His little sister is in her early teens. He is in his twenties. Phobos would have been somewhere around twelve when Elyon was taken to another dimension because he was such a threat to her life]]. Enfant Terrible or not, you'd think someone was around with the power to send him to his room.* PluckyComicRelief: Blunk.* PsychicPowers: The girls gain some pyschic abilities in the early part of Season 2.** Will develops [[{{Technopathy}} technopathy,]] the ability to communicate and control machinery.** Irma obtains [[CharmPerson suggestion/persuasion.]]** Taranee acquires {{Telepathy}}.** Cornelia gets [[MindOverMatter telekinesis.]] ** Hay Lin receives limited [[DreamingOfThingsToCome precognitive visions via her dreams.]]* PsychoactivePowers: All the girls have issues with their power upgrade in Season 2 being triggered by their emotions, but Cornelia has the worst of it due to [[spoiler:her breaking up with Caleb]] making her lose control over her powers at a critical moment.* RapunzelHair: Quite common. Cornelia, Hay-Lin, Nerissa, Kadma, and Halinor all have ridiculously long hair.** Phobos and Cedric provide a male variant.* RealityWarper: Elyon and [[spoiler:Lillian.]]* RealityWarpingIsNotAToy: Which is why [[spoiler:Lillian]] gives her powers to the Earth Regents.* RebelLeader: Caleb, obviously.* TheRemnant: The Knights of Vengeance.* RichBitch: Cornelia, full stop.* SparedByTheAdaptation: Kinda. [[spoiler:In the comics, Yan Lin dies of old age shortly after having presented the girls with their powers. However, she turns out to live on in Kandrakaar, as part of the Council. In the series, she lives on in Heatherfield]]. Also, [[spoiler:Mr. Huggles dies after being hit by a car in the comic, though it is in a later storyline that was never adaptated for TV.]]* SkeletonGovernment: The entire planet of Meridian seem to be run by a single monarch, assisted by a couple of advisors. In a particularly egregious scene in the second series, Elyon was asked to negotiate a boundary dispute between two groups of farmers. You'd think there'd be some sort of regional governor to see to such matters.** Xambala's the same.** May be justified in both cases as Meridian was recently under a dictatorship and probably lacks any infrastructure while Zambala's population is basically a bunch of living trees.* SchoolPlay: Based off a story line in the comics where the girls recreate the origin of the Heart of Candracar for a school production. It doesn't go as well in the show.* SecondPersonAttack: Will decks Raythor in the third episode.* ShoutOut: Several to the ''LordOfTheRings'' Films. In the second season, when Greg Weisman takes over, he can't help but put a few shout outs to ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', as well.** In two episodes of the second season [[Anime/SailorMoon Usagi]] makes a brief background cameo.*** Franchise/{{Pokemon}} cameo in the European intro sequence. Really.* SickeninglySweethearts: Eric and Hay Lin's relationship toward the end of Season 2.* SixStudentClique:** The Head - Will** The Muscle - Caleb** The Quirk - Hay-Lin** The Pretty One - Cornelia** The Wild One - Irma** The Smart One - Taranee* SlumberParty: Teenage girls, obviously, but in the second season they hold one specifically to [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind fight the evil invading their dreams]].** Will used one in Season 1 as an excuse to brainstorm for their school's upcoming renaissance festival.* TheSixthRanger: Many thought Elyon would be it. And while the show does indicate that Caleb fills this category, the comic offers somebody different entirely.* SmugSnake: Phobos and -literally- Cedric. Nerissa.* SoLastSeason: "J is for Jewel" features the previous season's BigBad Phobos and several other villains that were imprisoned with him breaking out and trying to stage a coup. But the Guardians have become much more competent since those days, and have several more powers, and easily kick their asses.* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Averted: when Nerissa first appears, she is ''much'' weaker and less influential than Phobos ever was, though that does change overtime.* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Cedric and Miranda in the Season 2 finale. After being left to rot in prison by Phobos, the two plotted against him in secret, while forming a relationship. Their plan was successful as Cedric succeeded in capturing all of the power Phobos had collected as well as taking control of Kandrakar and Merridian in one fell swoop. Fortunately, they weren't any lucky than the previous villains they succeeded.]]* SpeaksFluentAnimal: One sided in the comics. Will's [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway empathetic]] powers makes animals respond to her mood and thoughts.* Station Manager: Irma is the radio manager of K-Ship, in the Sheffield school during halfway through the second season.* SuperHero: Tights and all.* ThirdPersonPerson: Blunk.* TownGirls: Irma is Butch, Cornelia is Femme, Will, Taranee and Hay Lin are Neither.* TransformationSequence: Usually all the girls together. This trope was played with in one episode: while every girl cheerfully announce their element as they transform like they always do, [[spoiler:Hay Lin]], while still going through the sequence with everyone else, stands still quietly with her head bowed.* TwistEnding: Numerous, just about every episode.* TwoLinesNoWaiting* TwoTimerDate: In "F Is For Facade" Cornelia goes ice skating with both Caleb (as her human form) and Peter (as her Guardian form).** Though it wasn't her plan to date both at the same time, but rather Elyon's plan to get Caleb back into Cornelia's graces. Unfortunately, she didn't know about Peter.* UncannyValleyGirl: Nerissa's one-episode stint as "Stacie".* [[UngratefulBastard Ungrateful Bitch]]: Kadma in the show. She was suckered by Nerissa that the Guardians were attacking Zamballa, causing her to imprison the group when they first arrive until only Taranee was left. When the ruse was found out, she doesn't bother to apologize for her mistakes nor thank them for saving Zamballa and reviving some of her coma-induced subjects after she coldly undermined the Guardians' abilities that they could. This more than annoyed Taranee.* VillainDecay: In season 2, in the ''same'' episode that he was freed from prison for the first time, Elyon forces Phobos back in, without even an onscreen fight.)** Inverted in the last few episodes of the season, where Phobos [[spoiler: steals the Seal of Nerissa, making him far ''more'' formidable than he was in Season 1- [[SubvertedTrope in theory, anyway. In practice]], [[JustDesserts Cedric eats him.]]]]** Cedric plays this totally straight, getting easier and easier to defeat each time he shows up. [[spoiler: Even when betraying Phobos and absorbing ultimate power in the end, he [[HowDoIShotWeb winds up not knowing how to properly use it]] and is defeated yet again.]]* VisitByDivorcedDad: [[spoiler:Will's father.]]* WhamEpisode: Y is for Yield. [[spoiler:All of the Guardians' "losses" since Phobos' release were planned by them to get Phobos in a position where he had no choice but to lose. Some of Phobos' minions have pulled a HeelFaceTurn. Finally, right when Phobos is about to do what W.I.T.C.H. has been manipulating him to since they released him, Cedric ''eats'' him.]]-->'''[[spoiler:Hay Lin]]:''' [[spoiler:Did he just...]]\\'''[[spoiler:Irma]]:''' [[spoiler:...Swallow Phobos whole? Oh yeah.]]* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: The Heart of Kandrakar grants 4 of the girls elemental powers, and to Will, the power to give them those powers! Maybe not totally lame, but at the least, unfair. {{Retcon}}ned in Season 2 of the TV show when it's explained she had no powers as most of hers were used to keep the Veil up. When the Veil is lowered, she gains a lot of new abilities.* WorldBuilding: The universe certainly opens up after Season 1!* YouAreGrounded: Since she has to keep up TheMasquerade, Will gets this more than any girl trying to save the world deserves.* ZanyScheme: Too often to mention.----